Lynx girls, boys 6th at 3A state qualifier in Carroll

CARROLL – Webster City will have spectators, not competitors, at next weekend’s state cross country meet and yet head coach Tony Bussan walked away from yesterday’s Class 3A State Qualifying Meet at Swan Lake without a single regret.

Bussan challenged his runners to go above and beyond what they’d previously done and, one by one, they delivered.

Deep and talented girls’ and boys’ fields pushed the Lynx into an afterthought prior to the race and yet both teams jumped up to mid-pack finishes – much to the pleasure of their leader.

“I’m just super excited and I’m very honored by the commitment of our kids,” Bussan said after both of his squads finished sixth in the field of 12. “I was very concerned about the team and where we were at and whether or not we were going to buy into it and finish (the season) the right way. But our kids clearly cared.”

Led by sophomore Allie Flaws, the WCHS girls tallied 180 points while running in the woods, keyed by a gap of just 1 minute, 4 seconds from its five scorers.

Flaws showed the Lynx the way and finished 22nd in 17:31 and classmate Courtney Biere wasn’t too far behind; she was 28th in 17:48.

“Allie and Courtney both had tremendous races and they cut 30 seconds off their times on the course from a month ago,” Bussan said. “The kids just ran with a passion.”

The lowering of times from last month’s Carroll Kuemper Invite blanketed the roster, none bigger than freshman Larae Ebrecht, who finished 45th in just her second varsity race. Her time of 18:35 with a two-minute improvement from the junior varsity race she ran at Swan Lake.